West Town Bakery is preparing to open a new location with OKAY Cannabis, coming to Evanston, located at 100 Chicago Ave.
The new joint business will move into the nearly-completed Evanston Gateway apartments, according to Evanston Now. There are multiple contributors to this project. The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group filed for permits last week for special use, while the majority owner is Charles Mayfield, interim chief operating officer for the Chicago Public Schools. West Town Bakery will serve beer, wine, and liquor, as well as bakery goods and other food. OKAY Cannabis’ website says this location will open in July 2023.
This is not the first time Chicagoland has seen this concept. The duo opened in Wheeling last month at 781 N. Milwaukee Avenue, the first suburban location for West Town Bakery. The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, led by Scott Weiner and Greg Mohr, took over the bakery in 2012 when it was still called Bleeding Heart Bakery & Cafe and co-owned with the original owners, Vinny and Michelle Garcia. Once the restaurant group obtained complete control of the business, it officially renamed it West Town Bakery & Diner. Now the hospitality group is getting ready to open the company’s sixth location at the corner of Howard Street and Chicago Avenue.
When these businesses open their doors, customers will have the option of either shopping for some cannabis or enjoying a delicious drink or a baked good. This one-of-a-kind experience has been recently made possible because of Ald. Devon Reid, who recently pushed to legalize cannabis consumption lounges in Evanston. While fans of cannabis will find this news exciting, residents voiced their concerns due to the health effects of smoking pot. That proposal was pulled from the City Council agenda last month without explanation.
